Climate Change and Oil Companies Behaving Badly (Duh)
A state of science report about climate change was just published in the journal Bioscience. It is not fun reading. It is titled “The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink,” a clue that it is sounding an alarm most of us are already hearing, but clearly not enough of us. The article starts out:
“We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation. Almost every corner of the biosphere is reeling from intensifying heat, storms, floods, droughts, or fires.”
Even if too depressing to read through, it is a document worth having for reference.
Along those lines, if you are fortunate enough to have enough money invested in mutual funds or have an IRA or the like please consider socially/environmentally aware (“ESG”) funds. They may not return quite as much (some do) as funds that invest in fossil fuel companies, but consider if you can afford the “green premium.” You may not be able to force your pension funds to divest (some have!) but you have some control over your investments.
As inspiration keep in mind, Alexander C. Kaufman at Heatmap AM reported today December 11, 2025:
“Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to cut planned spending on low-carbon projects by a third, joining much of the rest of its industry in refocusing on fossil fuels. The nation’s largest oil producer said it would increase its earnings and cash flow by $5 billion by 2030. The company projected earnings to grow by 13% each year without any increase in capital spending”
The oil companies aren’t even bothering to make a token effort anymore!
photo by Susan Levinson
Speaking of oil and gas companies and planetary health, I was on a zoom committee meeting for my local West Los Angeles Sierra Club group and learned that LA County is suing oil and gas companies over environmental justice regarding oil wells that they have failed to properly take care of (it is apparently a novel legal approach). The oil wells pictured above and on the home page with this post are on the huge Inglewood oil field near where I live and are adjacent to a park in Los Angeles. Keep in mind LA County is the largest county government in the US with a population larger than some states (about twice the population of Wyoming, for example).
From the LA County announcement:
“Los Angeles County filed an environmental justice lawsuit today against oil and gas well operators to force them to address dangers to human health and the environment caused by unplugged idle and exhausted oil and gas wells in the Inglewood Oil Field (IOF).
“The lawsuit alleges that Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC, Plains Resources, Inc., and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. failed to properly decommission and plug exhausted and idle oil and gas wells, thereby causing toxic pollutants to leak into the air, land and water, leading to significant environmental harms and health risks to communities surrounding the IOF.
“We are making it clear to these oil companies that Los Angeles County is done waiting and that we remain unwavering in our commitment to protect residents from the harmful impacts of oil drilling. Plugging idle oil and gas wells—so they no longer emit toxins into communities that have been on the frontlines of environmental injustice for generations—is not only the right thing to do, it’s the law,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “At the very least, oil companies that have long profited from this land must uphold their responsibilities to properly close these wells and ensure they cause no further harm.”
Don’t despair, but please do what you can when you can!
Be creative!
At least talk to people, contact your elected officials, vote